How many Twitter users actually tweet?

In a startling admission by Twitter apparently, one in five users never actually tweet.

Twitter has almost 284 million users however nearly 24 million of them never issue updates via the social networking platform, according to data filed by Twitter with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A lot of these non-users are probably bots or apps that connect users automatically to Twitter.

For those of us in the communications profession, reach, or the number of people who could have seen content, is often a key measurement metric.

Twitter reach is defined as the number of engaged users plus all their followers. So if someone tweets, retweets, favourites or replies to specific content, all his or her own Twitter followers are part of its overall reach.

Twitter’s admission that up to 20 per cent of its users could be bots, spam or dead accounts severely impacts the measurement of real reach.

Indeed, Twitter needs to clear out the deadwood. But marketing communications professionals need to use more relevant metrics to accurately evaluate digital communications activity.

At Thornley Fallis we believe tracking resonance makes more sense. This means tracking what really matters in achieving the campaign objectives. Where does content fit into the online discussions and communities that are key to success?

Once we have a handle on this, we can understand better which content resonates most and can foster social conversations around it to expand the digital footprint. Finding and building relationships with key influencers is the key to the ROI of content marketing. These connections are a big part of driving online awareness and brand preference which leads to website traffic and sales.